Communicate to Lead

Kele Belton
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Ready to step into your full potential as a leader? Join communication expert and leadership coach Kele Belton for conversations that go beyond traditional leadership advice. Each week on Communicate to Lead, discover practical strategies to strengthen both your leadership presence and communication impact. Through solo episodes and inspiring guest interviews, Kele tackles the real challenges women face in management - from mastering high-stakes conversations and building executive presence to overcoming perfectionism and imposter syndrome. Whether you're an experienced manager or an aspiring leader, this podcast delivers actionable insights to help you navigate workplace dynamics, amplify your voice, and lead with authentic confidence. Tune in to transform challenges into opportunities and build the leadership career you envision.

  1. 1 day ago

    215. How to Give Your Opinion When You're Put on the Spot

    What do you say when a senior leader turns to you in a meeting and asks what you think — before you’ve had time to form a view? In this Monday Momentum episode, Kele Belton gives you a two-part line for the moment a senior leader asks for your opinion on the spot. She explains why a cautious non-answer closes an opening, how “first read” keeps you from being boxed in, and why naming what you’d check can be the most useful thing said in the meeting. This is Part 2 of the five-part November series “What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say.” What You Will Learn Why a senior leader asking in the moment isn’t looking for a final answer.How agreeing with the room and asking for time both cost you the same thing. The two parts of the line, and what each one signals.Why “first read” protects you if new information turns up later.Why leading with the caveat tells everyone to discount what comes next.Who This Is For This episode is for women in leadership who sit in rooms with people more senior than them and get asked, without warning, what they think. Your Action Step Before your next meeting with senior leadership, pick one item on the agenda and write out both parts. Fill them in with your view and the risk you’d check, in words that sound like you. Then you’ll walk in with your answer ready before anyone asks for it. Common Questions About Being Asked Your Opinion What do you say when you’re asked for your opinion and don’t have one ready? Give your first read — your view as it stands — and the one thing you’d want to check before committing. You end up with a position and a visible limit, which is what a senior leader is listening for. The exact wording, and how to deliver it under pressure, are what the episode teaches. Should I just say I need time to think about it? You can, but it closes the opening. When someone senior asks in the moment, they want to see how you think on your feet, and a cautious non-answer gives them nothing to see.  How do I give an opinion without committing to it? Frame your view as a first read: where you’d start, not where you’d finish, so you’re free to change it when new information arrives. The caveat goes second, never first. If you open with “I haven’t thought this through,” you’ve told everyone to discount what follows. Does this only work for big decisions? No. The line works for any decision you’re asked about, from a launch date to a hiring call to a budget question. What changes is your view and the risk you’d check, not the structure. AI Prompt: Make the Line Yours Use this after you listen, to prepare both parts for a real agenda item and rehearse them out loud. Remove names, employer details and anything confidential before you paste anything into an AI tool. I’m a [role] in [industry]. I have a meeting with senior leaders coming up on [topic]. Ask me 3 questions, one at a time: what decision is on the table, what I lean toward and why, and what could make me wrong. Then play a senior leader and ask me for my opinion cold. Let me practice my two-part line out loud until it sounds natural, and give me feedback on each attempt — especially on hedging language, and on whether my caveat is coming before my view instead of after it. Constraints: do not write the line for me. Do not invent facts, outcomes, or details I did not give you. Push me to say it in my own words. Ready to Go Deeper? Ready to walk into senior rooms with your view already formed? A complimentary Leadership Strategy Call with Kele is a chance to talk about where you are, where you want to go, and what it’ll take to get there. Book your complimentary Leadership Strategy Call About Your Host Kele Belton is a communication and leadership facilitator, coach, and consultant, and the host of Communicate to Lead. Through her company, The Tailored Approach, she helps high-performing women in middle and senior management move from essential but invisible to seen, sponsored, and promoted. Connect With Kele LinkedIn: Kele BeltonInstagram: @thetailoredapproachWebsite: The Tailored ApproachBook a Leadership Strategy Call: Schedule here

  2. 5 days ago

    214. How to Ask for Help Without Feeling Like a Burden

    How do you ask for help at work, whether it’s an introduction, a reference, or twenty minutes of someone’s time, without feeling like a burden? In this episode of Communicate to Lead, Kele Belton shares how to tell whether a request fits the relationship, and the three parts of a request that make it easy for the other person to say yes, and equally easy to say no. Quick Answer Make the request specific, do the work so saying yes takes as little of their time as possible, and give them a real way to decline. A clear request with a short time commitment and an easy no rarely feels like an imposition. You’ve done the work. You met someone worth knowing, followed up, offered your support, and stayed in touch. Now you need something, and you freeze, because a voice in the back of your mind says: “They’re so busy. The last thing they need is one more thing from me.” Make it easy to say yes, and equally easy to say no. — Kele Belton In This Episode Many of the women Kele works with will help anyone. They make the introduction, review the résumé, and stay late to walk a colleague through a presentation. But when it’s time to ask for something for themselves, they hesitate, because asking feels like being one more thing on someone’s already full plate. Kele explains why never asking doesn’t protect a relationship, and what it quietly costs your career instead. She then gives listeners a way to size a request before they send it, from fifteen minutes of someone’s time to putting their reputation behind you in a room you’re not in, and an everyday comparison that makes the difference easy to remember. Listen for the simple trick that makes writing your own request feel as easy as writing one for someone on your team. Kele walks through two complete examples: asking a director for a conversation before applying for a role on her team, and asking a former manager to be a reference. She also covers when to ask in writing and when in person, the four versions of a request that tend to go wrong, what to do after a yes, how to handle a no or no answer at all, and where asking well stops helping. What You Will Learn Why many capable women find it easier to ask for others than for themselvesHow to tell whether a relationship is ready for the request you want to makeThe difference between a small, a medium, and a large request, and why the size has to fitThe three parts of a request that respect the other personHow to ask for an introduction or a reference in a way that takes little of the other person’s timeWho This Episode Is ForThis episode is for women in middle and senior leadership who build strong professional relationships and then hesitate to lean on them. It is for the leader everyone relies on, who would make an introduction for anyone on her team in a heartbeat, but freezes when the request is for herself. Your Action Step Think of one request you’ve been sitting on, whether it’s an introduction, a conversation you’ve wanted to have, or advice you’ve meant to ask for. Before you write anything, look at the relationship: has this person seen enough of you and your work for this request to fit? If you’re not sure, make the request smaller. Then write it with the three parts, the specific request, the easy yes, and the easy no, and send it this week. Mentioned in This Episode Episode 212: How to Follow Up After Meeting SomeoneCommon Questions About Asking for Help at Work How do you ask for help at work without feeling like a burden? Make your request specific, do the work for the other person, and give them a real way to decline. A clear request with a short time commitment and an easy way to say no rarely feels like an imposition. Being asked for something specific you can give often feels like trust rather than a burden. How do you ask someone for an introduction? Say exactly who you’d like to meet and why, then write a short note they can forward, with two or three sentences about who you are and why you’d like to connect. A ready-made note lets them make the introduction in a couple of minutes instead of deciding what to say about you. How do you ask someone to be a reference? Ask directly whether they would be willing, then make saying yes easy. Send the job description and the two or three things you’d most like them to speak to, and offer more detail if they want it. Close with a gracious way out, such as “If now isn’t a good time, I understand completely.” Can you ask a hiring manager for a conversation before applying for an internal role? In many organizations, yes. Ask for a specific amount of time, such as twenty minutes, to understand what the team needs. Offer a few times that suit you, and give them an easy way to decline, for example: “If it isn’t appropriate for you to talk with candidates, that’s completely fine. I’ll go through the formal process.” How do you follow up when someone doesn’t respond to your request? Send one gentle follow-up after a week or two, such as “Bringing this back to the top of your inbox in case it got buried. No pressure either way.” If there is still no reply, let it go and keep the relationship as it was before you asked. What should you do when someone says no to your request? Thank them and mean it. Don’t ask them to explain, and don’t make them manage your disappointment. A no to a specific request is often about their timing, their position, or something you can’t see. Handled well, a no can strengthen the relationship, because it shows you meant it when you said they could decline. Should you make a request in person or in writing? For most small and medium requests, writing works well because it gives the other person time to think and an easy way to say no. For a bigger request with someone you know well, raise it in conversation first, then follow up in writing. Avoid springing a big request in a hallway, where saying no feels awkward. AI Prompt: Draft a Request That Sounds Like You You are my executive communication coach. Help me write a request to someone in my professional network. Ask me these questions one at a time: (1) What do I want to ask for? (2) Who is this person, and what has passed between us so far? (3) Has this person seen enough of me and my work for this request to fit, or should it be smaller? Help me decide the size of the request before drafting. Then write a short first draft with three parts: the specific request, stating exactly what I’m asking for. The easy yes, doing the work for them so saying yes takes little time or effort. And the easy no, giving them a real and gracious way to decline. Constraints: Keep it under 120 words, warm, professional, and free of apologies. Do not use vague phrases like “pick your brain” or “let me know if you know anyone.” After the draft, ask me which words don’t sound like me, and help me revise until it sounds like I wrote it myself. Example (output style): “I saw the new role on your team, and I’m thinking about applying. Could I have twenty minutes with you in the next two weeks to understand what you’re looking for? I’m free Tuesday or Thursday afternoon. If it isn’t appropriate for you to talk with candidates, that’s completely fine." Ready to Go Deeper? If you know you need people in your corner but asking for help feels like being a burden, that is the work Kele does with her clients. A Leadership Strategy Call is a free thirty-minute conversation that looks at your actual situation, the relationships you’ve built, and how to ask for the support you need. Let’s talk about where you are, where you want to go, and what it will take to get there. Book your free Leadership Strategy Call About Your Host Kele Belton is a communication and leadership facilitator, coach, and consultant, and the host of Communicate to Lead. Through her company, The Tailored Approach, she helps high-performing women in middle and senior management move from essential but invisible to seen, sponsored, and promoted. Connect With Kele LinkedIn: Kele BeltonInstagram: @thetailoredapproachWebsite: The Tailored Approach

  3. 2 Nov

    213. What to Say When You Don’t Know the Answer at Work

    What do you say in a meeting when someone asks you for a number, an update, or a decision you don’t have? In this episode of Communicate to Lead, Kele Belton opens a five-part November series with the line to use when you’re asked a question and don’t have the answer yet. Imagine you’re in a meeting, and your director turns to you and asks for the latest number on the vendor contract. You don’t have it. You had it last week, but it’s changed, and you’re not sure where it landed. So you do what feels responsible. You start talking. You give the old number, add a caveat, then a second caveat, and by the end, nobody’s sure what you said, including you. Kele explains why a guess costs you more than a short delay, why the specific time is the part that does the work, and the one thing that undoes the whole line. This is Part 1 of the five-part November series “What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say.” The Line “I want to get this right. I’ll confirm and come back to you by three o’clock.” What You Will Learn Why a fast answer you’re unsure of costs more than taking the time to get it rightThe two parts of the line, and which one carries the weightWhy “I’ll get back to you” can land as a dodge, and what fixes itHow a gap in your knowledge becomes evidence that you’re reliableThe one mistake that undoes everything the line was built to doWho This Is For This episode is for women in leadership who get asked for numbers, updates, and decisions in meetings, and who would rather protect their credibility than fill the silence. Your Action Step Take the line and put it in your own words. Write it at the top of your notes for your next meeting. The first time someone asks you something you’re not sure of, use it. Then send the answer before the time you named. Common Questions About Not Having the Answer What do you say when you don’t know the answer at work? Say that you want to get it right, and name a specific time you’ll come back with it. The time is the part that works, because it turns a gap into a commitment. Then keep it. A promise you miss costs you more than the original question did. Is it bad to say “I don’t know” in a meeting? Not on its own, but stopping there leaves the room with nothing. Pair it with a follow-up time, and it reads as accuracy rather than a gap. What damages credibility is the alternative most capable people reach for, which is talking through a number they’re unsure of and stacking caveats on it. How do I avoid rambling when I’m put on the spot? Give yourself one sentence and a deadline instead of an answer. Rambling happens because the pressure is to answer now, so the way out is to replace the answer with a commitment. Your goal in that moment is to protect your credibility, not to fill the silence. What time should I promise? One you can hit. If three o’clock is tight, say tomorrow morning. Picking a time that sounds impressive and then missing it undoes everything the line was built to do. AI Prompt (Copy-Paste Ready) Use this prompt to adapt the line to your own meetings and practice it out loud. Paste it into your preferred AI assistant and answer as it goes. I'm a [role] in [industry]. I want a short line to use when I'm asked a question in a meeting and don't have the answer yet. Ask me 3 questions, one at a time: what kinds of questions catch me off guard, who usually asks them, and how fast I can realistically follow up. Then write two versions of the line, each under 15 words, with a specific follow-up time. Constraints: confident, no apology, avoid softening language like "just," "sorry," or "I think." Example: "I want to get this right. I'll confirm and send it by noon tomorrow." Next, draft a short follow-up message I can send before my deadline. Then ask me a surprise question my director might ask, and let me practice the line out loud until it sounds natural. Give me feedback on each attempt. Ready to Go Deeper? Ready to handle the high-stakes moments with less guessing? A complimentary Leadership Strategy Call with Kele is a chance to talk about where you are, where you want to go, and what it’ll take to get there. Book your complimentary Leadership Strategy Call About Your Host Kele Belton is a communication and leadership facilitator, coach, and consultant, and the host of Communicate to Lead. Through her company, The Tailored Approach, she helps high-performing women in middle and senior management move from essential but invisible to seen, sponsored, and promoted. Connect With Kele ●      LinkedIn: Kele Belton ●      Instagram: @thetailoredapproach ●      Website: The Tailored Approach ●      Book a Leadership Strategy Call: Schedule here

  4. 30 Oct

    212. How to Follow Up After Meeting Someone

    How do you follow up after a networking event, an interview, or a first conversation so that the connection goes somewhere, without sounding like a pitch? In this episode of Communicate to Lead, Kele Belton shares one question to ask before you write anything, and four steps for turning a first meeting into a professional relationship that lasts. Quick Answer Send a short note that mentions one specific thing you noticed about them, and include one offer of support with nothing attached. Lead with what you noticed, not with what you want. Most follow-up messages say some version of “It was lovely to meet you, and I look forward to staying connected.” They are polite and warm, and they could have been sent to anyone. As Kele sees it, so much of what arrives in our inboxes now is written with AI that a warm but generic note no longer reads as warm. It reads as automated, and it is easy to ignore. Follow up with what you noticed about them, not with what you want from them. — Kele Belton, Episode 212 In This Episode Kele opens with a story of her own: a part-time coaching role she applied for and did not get. Instead of disappearing after the no, she sent a short, specific reply with an offer of support and nothing attached to it. Listen for what that one email led to over the following months, and for what the relationship did and did not do for her. From there, she sets two sentences side by side that sound almost identical. One asks the other person to keep an eye out on your behalf. The other offers to do something for them. The difference between them is the thesis of the episode, and it explains why so many follow-up messages go nowhere. Kele also looks at what AI has changed. A tool can write a polished note in seconds, but it lets you skip the part where you pay attention, and it fills the gap with a guess about what the other person needs. The specific detail you noticed is what shows you paid attention. What You Will Learn Why “Lovely to meet you, looking forward to staying connected,” gives the other person nothing to respond toThe one question to ask yourself before you follow up with anyoneHow to respond thoughtfully after an interview rejectionWhy AI-written follow-up messages often read as a pitch, and what a tool cannot supply for youThe four steps for turning a first meeting into a professional relationshipHow to stay in touch without becoming a weight in someone’s inbox, and the test for when contact turns into pesteringWho This Episode Is For This episode is for women in middle and senior leadership who meet people worth knowing and then let the connection fade, or who have received a no they would still like to turn into a relationship. It is for the leader who wants to build professional relationships that feel like her, not like networking. Your Action Step Think of one person you have met in the last few months who is worth knowing and whom you have not followed up with properly, or a no you would still like to turn into a relationship. Ask yourself whether the relationship matters to you. If it does, write one note that includes one specific thing you noticed about them and an offer with nothing attached. If you have already sent the note, find their most recent post and leave a comment worth remembering. Common Questions About Following Up After Meeting Someone How do you follow up after a networking event? Send a short note that mentions one specific thing you discussed and something you appreciated about the person. Add an offer of support with nothing attached. Then connect on LinkedIn and engage thoughtfully with what they post. A message that could have gone to anyone gives the other person nothing to respond to. What should you say after an interview when you don’t get the role? Thank the hiring manager for their time, say you enjoyed the conversation, and offer support with nothing attached, such as “Please let me know if I can support you in any way.” Avoid asking them to keep you in mind for future openings. A gracious reply can leave the door open, though it cannot guarantee the relationship continues. How do you follow up without sounding like a sales pitch? Lead with what you noticed about the other person, not with what you want from them. A pitch assumes what someone needs. A good follow-up shows you were listening, through a specific detail from your conversation, and offers something without asking for anything in return. Kele Belton’s test is whether the message gives or takes. Can you use AI to write a follow-up message? In Kele’s experience, a warm but generic note now reads as automated rather than warm, because so much of what arrives in our inboxes is written with AI. A tool can help you tidy your wording, but it cannot supply what you noticed about the other person. A generic prompt tends to return a generic note that guesses at what the recipient needs, which often reads as a pitch. The specific detail you noticed is what tells the reader a real person was listening. How often should you follow up without being pushy? There is no fixed number. Run one test on each message: does it give, or does it take? Requests spend the recipient’s time and attention, and even well-meant contact asks for a moment of it. If you keep reaching out and nothing comes back, stop direct messages, and respect any clear request to stop. Is it too late to follow up with someone you met months ago? In most cases, it is not too late. Acknowledge the gap in one sentence without a long apology, then lead with something specific you remember from your conversation. For example: “I’ve been meaning to reach out since the offsite. I keep coming back to what you said about your team’s reorganization.” How do you use LinkedIn to build a relationship after meeting someone? Connect after your first note, then engage with what the person posts. Skip comments like “Thanks for sharing” and say something specific about what they wrote. If you find an article that would help with something they mentioned, share it. Keep contact light and focused on their work rather than yours. AI Prompt: Review Your Follow-Up Note After you listen, draft your own follow-up note, then use this prompt to review it. Remove names and confidential details before pasting them into an AI tool. You are my executive communication coach. Below is my draft follow-up note to someone I met recently. Review it for: (1) one specific detail I actually remember about them, drawn from our conversation, rather than a guess about what they need; (2) an offer of support with nothing attached, and no hidden ask for a job, referral, or favor; (3) no invented facts, outcomes, or details I did not mention. Do not write the note for me. Where a specific detail is missing or vague, ask me one question at a time to draw it out. Then help me tighten my own wording so it sounds like me, and mark anything in the draft that reads as a pitch rather than as listening. Ready to Go Deeper? If you know you need stronger relationships with the people who make decisions in your organization, but you are not sure where to start, that is the work Kele does with her clients. A Leadership Strategy Call is a free thirty-minute conversation that looks at your actual situation, who you need to know, and how to build those relationships in a way that feels like you. Book your free Leadership Strategy Call About Your Host Kele Belton is a communication and leadership facilitator, coach, and consultant, and the host of Communicate to Lead. Through her company, The Tailored Approach, she helps high-performing women in middle and senior management move from essential but invisible to seen, sponsored, and promoted. Connect With Kele LinkedIn: Kele BeltonInstagram: @thetailoredapproachWebsite: The Tailored Approach

  5. 26 Oct

    211. How to Write About What Didn't Go Well in a Performance Review

    Should the hard parts of your year go in your self-assessment? In this Monday Momentum episode of Communicate to Lead, Kele Belton closes the October series with the part of the year most people intentionally leave out. Quick Answer Add a short section to your preparation notes with three things from this year that didn’t go as planned, two lines each: what happened, and what you changed because of it. Keep it to finished situations. Writing it down and saying it out loud are two separate decisions, and the second one is yours to make later. A director Kele worked with had a beautiful record. Specific, well-organized months of work in it. When she asked where the hard parts of the year were, she looked at Kele like she’d lost her mind. The project that stalled, the hire that didn’t work out, none of it was in there. Her words were, why would I hand my manager ammunition? Months later, she came back and said she’d added one entry before her review. One project that slipped, and what she’d changed because of it. That entry was what her manager spent the most time on. Twenty minutes on the one entry she almost left out, not because it exposed her, but because it showed her thinking better than anything else in her record. Kele separates the decision to write something down from the decision to say it out loud, explains why judgment is harder to demonstrate than competence and counts for more, and gives you a two-line format for three entries, plus the one caution about what does not belong in this section. This is Part 4, the finale of the four-part series “Build Your Case Before December.” What You Will Learn Why writing something down and saying it out loud are two separate decisions — and why the writing pays off either way.What a record made entirely of wins signals to the person reading it.Why senior leadership is looking for someone who notices and adjusts rather than someone who always gets it right.The two-line format — and why the second line is where all the weight sits.The difference between airing something and owning it.The one caution: what does not belong in this section, and why finished situations only.Who This Is For This episode is for high-performing women in middle and senior management who have built a record of their year and are deciding whether the hard parts belong in it. It’s also for anyone who has opened a self-assessment, hovered over the honest answer, and written something safer instead. Your Action Step Open your notes and add the section, then put one thing in it: the one you already thought of. Two lines. What happened, and what you changed because of it. Common Questions About Writing About Setbacks at Work Should I include mistakes in my self-assessment? Write them down, yes — but keep two documents distinct: your own preparation notes, and what you submit. Saying something out loud is a separate decision you make later, and the writing pays off either way. If your workplace isn’t safe for that conversation, you still want the specifics on paper, because you cannot describe in a review what you never wrote down. How do I talk about a failure in a performance review? In two lines: what happened, and what you changed because of it. What happened on its own is a confession. What you changed is what makes it leadership. Lead with the change and keep the setback short. The episode shows how to do that well, without over-apologizing or sounding rehearsed. How many things should the lessons section include? In Kele’s exercise: three entries, no more, and only situations that are finished. Skip anything still unresolved and anything that was someone else’s mistake, and don’t use the section to be hard on yourself. If nothing comes to mind, scroll back through your calendar, because the weeks that went sideways are where to look. Isn’t it risky to put what went wrong in writing? It can be, depending on who can access the record and how your workplace handles mistakes. Preparing an example and including it in a formal self-assessment are separate decisions, and no format guarantees a particular response. That said, a record made entirely of wins carries its own risk, because it reads like a highlight reel and invites the question of what got left out. What distinguishes a senior candidate is being able to describe what she noticed and what she adjusted, and that only works if it was written down at the time. AI Prompt: Review Your Lessons Entry After you listen, draft your own two-line entry, then use this prompt to review it. Remove names, employer details and anything confidential before you paste anything into an AI tool. You are my executive communication coach. Below is my draft entry for the lessons section of my year-end review preparation: what happened, and what I changed because of it. Review it for: (1) whether the second line carries more weight than the first, so the entry reads as judgment rather than a confession; (2) whether it is factual and forward-facing, with no self-criticism, apology, blame, or hedging language like “just,” “a little,” or “I probably should have”; (3) whether it describes a finished situation rather than something still unresolved. Do not invent facts, outcomes, numbers or quotes; if information is missing, ask me one question at a time. Then help me tighten the two lines and write one spoken sentence I could say out loud if I am asked about a challenge this year, in my own voice. Ready to Go Deeper? Ready to turn a year of work into the conversation that moves your career forward? A complimentary Leadership Strategy Call with Kele is a chance to talk about where you are, where you want to go, and what it’ll take to get there. Book your complimentary Leadership Strategy Call About Your Host Kele Belton is a communication and leadership facilitator, coach, and consultant, and the host of Communicate to Lead. Through her company, The Tailored Approach, she helps high-performing women in middle and senior management move from essential but invisible to seen, sponsored, and promoted. Connect With Kele LinkedIn: Kele BeltonInstagram: @thetailoredapproachWebsite: The Tailored Approach

  6. 22 Oct

    210. How to Show the Impact of Your Work, Not Only the Results

    How do you talk about your accomplishments in a performance review, or to senior leadership, so they understand what your work was worth and not only what you delivered? In this episode of Communicate to Lead, Kele Belton works through the difference between a result and an impact, and gives you five places to look for yours. You cut the processing time from nine days to four. It is specific, it has a number in it, and it is true. And the person hearing it still has to work out on her own why it mattered. Most of the time, she won't, because she walked into that meeting with twelve other things on her plate. The result is what changed. The impact is what that change is worth. — Kele Belton, Episode 210 In This Episode Kele takes the four parts of the S.T.A.R. framework and spends a full episode on the fifth part she adds to it: the impact. This is the deeper pass she promised on Monday, when she gave listeners the whole structure in six minutes. She is careful about the framing. S.T.A.R. is not hers and is taught widely in interview preparation and management courses. S.T.A.R.I. is the version she uses with her own clients, and the I is the letter she adds because of what she watches happen in rooms where decisions get made about people. The distinction at the center of the episode is that a result tells someone you finished something, while an impact tells them you understood why it needed finishing. Kele demonstrates it by taking a single result, a processing time cut from nine days to four, and showing three completely different impacts that could sit underneath it. Listen for what each version tells the person hearing it, because that is the choice the episode is teaching you to make. What You Will Learn The difference between a result and an impact — and what each one tells the person hearing your story.The five places to look for your impact — money, time, risk, people, and strategy — and how to choose one rather than naming all five.How to tell whether your result is a real result — or a repeat of what you did.What to say when your work has no number attached to it.How to claim your piece of a team effort — without taking credit for anyone else's work.How to compress a five-part story into two sentences — when the agenda is running late.The S.T.A.R.I. Method S.T.A.R.I. has five parts: the situation, the task, the action, the result, and the impact. The first four are the widely taught S.T.A.R. structure; the impact is the part Kele adds. In the episode, she walks one story through all five parts in order, then removes the impact so you can hear exactly what is lost. She also runs a second story that has no number in it anywhere, because a lot of your best work will not have one. Who This Episode Is For This episode is for women in middle and senior leadership who do excellent work that gets described as a task. It is for the leader heading into a performance review, an interview, or a conversation with senior leadership, who knows her work mattered and wants the person across the table to know it too. Your Action Step After you listen, take one piece of work from this year that nobody has ever described properly. Run it past the five places, then write one sentence that says what the change was worth. Common Questions About Showing the Impact of Your Work What is the difference between a result and an impact? A result is what changed. An impact is what that change was worth. Cutting a process from nine days to four is a result. Revenue you stopped losing, or an audit failure you prevented, is the impact underneath it. How do you show the impact of your work in a performance review? Name one specific instance, say what you were responsible for, describe what you decided and did, state what changed, then add one sentence on what that change was worth to the business. Choose the impact closest to what the person across the table is responsible for. One impact, said well, is enough. What do you do if you have no number to show your impact? Plenty of excellent work has no number, and a figure you cannot defend is worse than none at all. Describe capability instead: say what can be done now that could not be done before. Or borrow someone else's words, quoting what a client, colleague, or manager said about the change. How do you talk about your impact when the work was a team effort? Use the task part of the story, which exists to say what was yours. Credit the team and name your piece in the same breath. The impact follows the piece you owned. Claiming your piece does not take anyone else's. Where does a well-stated impact stop helping? It cannot change a manager who has already decided, and it cannot fix an organization where decisions happen through relationships you were never invited into. Explaining your impact clearly can make your contribution easier to understand. It cannot guarantee a fair hearing, recognition, or a changed decision. AI Prompt: Review Your Own Impact Sentence Use this after you listen and after you have drafted your own story. Remove names, client details, and anything confidential before you paste anything into an AI tool. You are my executive communication coach. Below is my draft accomplishment story and the person I intend to tell it to. Review it for: (1) a clear distinction between the result and the impact, with the impact stated as what the change was worth, not a repeat of what I did; (2) specific, checkable evidence, with no invented numbers, quotes, causal links, or outcomes; (3) accurate credit for my piece of the work if it was shared. Ask me one question at a time where information is missing. Then help me refine one impact sentence in my own voice, and mark anything in my draft I need to verify before I say it out loud. Ready to Go Deeper? If you have been doing excellent work for years and the people making decisions about you still describe you by your tasks, that is the work Kele does with her clients. A Leadership Strategy Call is a free thirty-minute conversation that looks at your actual situation: what you have delivered, how it is currently being described, and what would change how you are heard. Book your free Leadership Strategy Call About Your Host Kele Belton is a communication and leadership facilitator, coach, and consultant, and the host of Communicate to Lead. Through her company, The Tailored Approach, she helps high-performing women in middle and senior management move from essential but invisible to seen, sponsored, and promoted. Connect With Kele LinkedIn: Kele BeltonInstagram: @thetailoredapproachWebsite: The Tailored Approach

  7. 19 Oct

    209. How to Talk About Your Accomplishments in a Performance Review

    How do you talk about your accomplishments in a performance review without reducing a year of meaningful work to a list of tasks? In this Monday Momentum episode of Communicate to Lead, Kele Belton shows you how to turn a work accomplishment into a clear, specific story that makes your contribution easier to understand—and repeat. One entry in your record probably reads something like this: “Improved team communication.” It is accurate. It also misses the details that show your judgment: what wasn't working, what you took responsibility for, and what changed because of your decisions. You remember those details. But will your manager have enough to explain your contribution in a room you are not in? Kele explores how to use the STAR method for performance reviews, with an added focus on Impact. You will hear why an accomplishment can sound complete and still leave out the part that explains its value—and how to prepare a story that goes beyond a polished summary. This is Part 3 of the four-part series “Build Your Case Before December.” The companion Thursday deep-dive explores Kele’s S.T.A.R.I. approach in more detail, including five places to look for your impact. What You Will Learn Why an accurate summary of your work can still leave your contribution unclear.How specific details give your manager something concrete to remember and repeat.How to choose three accomplishments that show the range of your leadership—not just your biggest win.How Kele adapts the STAR method for performance-review conversations by adding impact.The part of your accomplishment story that deserves more attention—and what it reveals about your judgment.Why a result and a business impact are not the same thing, and how that distinction changes your story.Who This Episode Is For This episode is for high-performing women in middle and senior management who have a record of their work but need to explain its value out loud. If you are preparing for a performance review, promotion conversation, interview, or discussion with senior leadership, this episode helps you move beyond a task list and make your contribution clearer. Your Action Step Open your record of accomplishments and flag three entries you want to develop. After listening, choose one and use the episode’s approach to turn it into a short story you can say out loud. Start with one before polishing the other two. Common Questions About Performance Review Accomplishments How do I talk about my accomplishments in a performance review? Go beyond naming the accomplishment: give enough context for your manager to understand your contribution and why it mattered. This episode shows you how to turn a brief entry in your record into a specific story, not a long list of tasks. Can I use the STAR method in a performance review? Yes. In this episode, Kele applies STAR—Situation, Task, Action, and Result—to accomplishment stories for performance reviews. She adds impact as a fifth part in her S.T.A.R.I. approach, helping you connect what changed to why it mattered. What is the difference between a result and an impact? A result describes what changed. Impact explains what that change meant for the business or wider team. Kele explores how to make that connection without stopping at an activity or a metric. Which accomplishments should I include in my performance review? Look for accomplishments that show different dimensions of your contribution, rather than several versions of the same strength. In the episode, Kele explains how to choose three entries that demonstrate range and give your manager a fuller picture of your leadership. AI Prompt: Practice Your Accomplishment Story After Listening Use this prompt after listening to apply the episode to your own work. Remove confidential information, names, and identifying details before using an AI tool. Copy and paste: I am a [role] in [industry], preparing for a [performance review / promotion conversation / interview]. I have listened to Episode 209 of Communicate to Lead and want to practice explaining one accomplishment clearly. Here is my raw accomplishment entry: [paste your entry]. Here are my notes on the storytelling approach from the episode: [paste your notes]. Use my notes as the guide. Before drafting, ask one clarifying question at a time to uncover the details that are missing. Help me distinguish what I personally decided and did from the team’s shared work, and clarify the evidence for the outcome and its significance. Do not invent numbers, business impact, responsibilities, or causal claims. If something is uncertain, flag it and ask me to verify it. Then write a natural spoken version of about ninety seconds and a two-sentence version for a shorter conversation. Keep my voice, avoid inflated claims and resume jargon, and give me one follow-up question a manager might ask so I can practice responding. If I have not provided my episode notes, ask me to add them rather than inventing Kele’s method. Ready to Go Deeper? You have done the work. Now you need to explain its value in a conversation that matters. Book a complimentary Leadership Strategy Call with Kele to talk about where you are, where you want to go, and what it will take to get there. Book your complimentary Leadership Strategy Call About Your Host Kele Belton is a communication and leadership trainer and the host of Communicate to Lead. She specializes in helping women leaders develop confidence and impact through strategic communication and practical leadership frameworks. Connect With Kele LinkedIn: Kele BeltonInstagram: @thetailoredapproachWebsite: The Tailored Approach

  8. 15 Oct

    208. How to Give Hard Feedback, Even to Your Boss

    How do you give difficult feedback at work when you are worried about how it will land—especially with your boss? In this episode of Communicate to Lead, Kele Belton shares a practical approach to constructive feedback, upward feedback, and the moments when the conversation gets uncomfortable. You have rehearsed it in the car. You have drafted the message and deleted it twice. Then the moment comes, and what comes out is: “It’s fine. We’re good. Don’t worry about it.” The problem is not just finding the courage to speak. It is knowing how to turn what you are feeling into something the other person can actually use. When worry makes you soften the message until it becomes vague, nothing changes—and the next conversation feels even harder. “If the person cannot repeat what they did or change it based on what you said, you haven’t given them feedback. You have given them a feeling.” — Kele Belton, Episode 208 In This Episode Kele explores how to give hard feedback in three directions: to a direct report, to a peer, and to your boss. The emphasis is on upward feedback, where the power dynamic changes how you open the conversation and what you ask for. Through an illustrative coaching example, you will meet Rosa, a senior hospitality leader and one of two women on her senior leadership team. Her boss arrives at meetings with decisions already made, before hearing from the people closest to the operation. Rosa has wanted to speak up for months, but she is worried about what it could cost her. Her situation brings the episode’s central idea into focus: “The feeling is not the feedback.” There is a meaningful difference between describing how someone makes you feel and identifying a specific behavior they can change. Listen for how Kele makes that distinction—and how it changes the conversation. What You Will Learn How to turn frustration into specific, constructive feedback rather than a judgment about someone’s character.The four parts of a useful feedback conversation—and why describing the problem is not enough.What changes when you give feedback to your boss instead of a direct report or peer.How to stay clear and steady when someone becomes defensive or feels hurt.Why positive feedback needs the same specificity as difficult feedback.How to choose the timing and setting, including when it is better to wait.Where a communication framework stops helping when speaking up carries real workplace risk.A Four-Part Framework for Difficult Feedback Kele’s approach builds on Situation, Behavior, Impact (SBI), a model taught widely in leadership development programs. She adds a check-in question and an action step to help turn a one-way message into a useful conversation. The four parts are: a specific behavior, one work-related impact, an open-ended check-in question, and a clear next step. In the episode, Kele explains how to use each part without piling on complaints, softening away the message, or assigning motives. Giving Feedback to Your Boss: What Changes? Upward feedback means giving feedback to someone with authority over your work. The conversation still needs specific observations and a clear impact, but the opening and the request need to respect that power dynamic. Kele explains how to invite the conversation rather than spring it on your boss, and how to make a bounded request tied to doing your work well instead of telling your manager what to do. The goal is a useful conversation—not a confrontation or a guarantee of a particular response. Who This Episode Is For This episode is especially for women in middle and senior leadership who are carrying feedback they have not been able to say. Whether the conversation is with your boss, a peer, or a direct report, it is for the leader who knows something needs to change but keeps drafting—and deleting—the message. Your Action Step Choose one piece of feedback you have been avoiding. Spend ten minutes writing down what you actually saw or heard, when it happened, the one impact that matters most for the work, the question you want to ask, and what you would like to be different next time. If the feedback is for your boss, also consider how you will ask to begin the conversation. Common Questions About Giving Difficult Feedback at Work How do you give constructive feedback to your boss? Prepare one specific example, explain its impact on the work, and invite your boss’s perspective. Ask whether it is a good time to talk, then make a focused request rather than issuing an instruction. Kele explains how these changes make upward feedback different from feedback to a direct report. What is the difference between a feeling and useful feedback? Feelings can alert you that something needs attention, but they do not identify what the other person can change. Useful feedback describes an observable behavior and its impact. “He treats us like children” is an interpretation; describing a specific meeting where a decision was made before the team was consulted gives the conversation a concrete starting point. What should you do when someone gets defensive about feedback? Stay with the specific behavior, invite their perspective, and avoid debating their character or motives. Kele’s guiding principle is to neither argue nor retreat: keep the message clear without turning the conversation into a contest. Is it safe to give your manager negative feedback? Not always. A communication framework cannot guarantee safety with a manager who punishes disagreement or in an organization that penalizes speaking up. This episode distinguishes between preparing a difficult conversation and recognizing a situation where the risk itself needs attention. How do you give feedback to a peer without authority over them? Focus on a specific behavior and its impact on shared work, ask for their perspective, and discuss a practical next step. The aim is to agree on what would help the work, not to position yourself as their manager. When is the best time to give difficult feedback? Choose a private, appropriate setting while the example is still fresh enough to discuss clearly. If either person is angry, wait until the conversation can happen more calmly. Timing matters, but speed is not more important than being ready to speak constructively. Why is “good job” not enough as positive feedback? “Good job” expresses approval but does not tell someone what to repeat. More useful positive feedback identifies what they did and what it made possible. Specificity should not appear only when something has gone wrong. AI Prompt: Prepare Your Feedback Conversation Use this prompt after listening to apply the framework to your own situation. Remove names, identifying details, and confidential workplace information before using an AI tool. Copy and paste: You are my executive communication coach. Help me prepare for a feedback conversation at work. Before writing a script, ask me these questions one at a time: (1) Is this feedback for a direct report, a peer, or my boss? (2) What did I actually see or hear in one specific instance, and when did it happen? (3) Which one effect matters most for the work? (4) What context might they have that I do not? (5) What is the one specific thing I would like to be different next time? (6) Is there anything about this person’s past responses or the workplace culture that makes speaking up risky? Then help me distinguish observable behavior from assumptions about motives or character. If I describe retaliation or a credible risk to my job, do not present a script as a guarantee of safety; acknowledge that risk before proceeding. Otherwise, draft a short script in this order: the specific behavior, one work-related impact, an open-ended check-in question, and one clear next step. If the feedback is for my boss, add a permission-based opening and turn the next step into a bounded request tied to what I need to do my work well. Keep the language warm, direct, and natural to say out loud. Avoid unnecessary apologies, vague softening, and character judgments. Keep the script under ninety seconds. Ready to Go Deeper? If you have been holding back feedback because you cannot see a useful way into the conversation, you do not have to work through it alone. A free, thirty-minute Leadership Strategy Call is a chance to look at your actual situation: what you need to say, who needs to hear it, and what to consider before you speak. Explore your options with Kele and identify a thoughtful next step. Book your free Leadership Strategy Call About Your Host Kele Belton is a communication and leadership facilitator, coach, and consultant, and the host of Communicate to Lead. Through her company, The Tailored Approach, she helps high-performing women in middle and senior management move from essential but invisible to seen, sponsored, and promoted. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kele-ruth-beltonInstagram: @thetailoredapproachWebsite: thetailoredapproach.comBook a Leadership Strategy Call: Schedule here

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About

Ready to step into your full potential as a leader? Join communication expert and leadership coach Kele Belton for conversations that go beyond traditional leadership advice. Each week on Communicate to Lead, discover practical strategies to strengthen both your leadership presence and communication impact. Through solo episodes and inspiring guest interviews, Kele tackles the real challenges women face in management - from mastering high-stakes conversations and building executive presence to overcoming perfectionism and imposter syndrome. Whether you're an experienced manager or an aspiring leader, this podcast delivers actionable insights to help you navigate workplace dynamics, amplify your voice, and lead with authentic confidence. Tune in to transform challenges into opportunities and build the leadership career you envision.

Information

  • Creator
    Kele Belton
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    227
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Communicate to Lead
  • Show Website
    Communicate to Lead

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